Personality certainly is important. There are hundreds of guys in every city with a truck and a mower, but if you can get to know somebody, you have an edge. This is one of the problems I'm thinking about as I try to decide how large I want my company to be. I'm solo right now, part-time since I'm still in school, but I know all of my customers, and their pets, by name. There's Fritz, Mickey, Abbey, Hope, Bronty (well, I don't know how to spell his name, but that's how it sounds anyway). Most of my customers are older people too, like 60s-80s, so they want somebody they can trust to treat them right.

Agree with everyone. Anyone can mow or dig holes. I just hired 2 guys with limited irrigation knowledge but have the appearance and people skills to make people feel comfortable. I can teach the tech stuff but some people are just born with people skills.

Some people are just naturals. David loves to make people smile and feel good about everything. He always seems to know what is appropriate and when. And, yes, his personality is why he has some of the work he does.

I can't do it. It always take me a little while to get to know people or for them to know me. I just don't have the "gift".